Immortal Longings is the exciting first book in Chloe Gongs debut adult fantasy series. I haven't read any other books by this author but I've heard great things so I had high expectations. I've always loved Antony and Cleopatra and thought this book was definitely a unique take on the classic. The writing style was lovely and flowed seamlessly.

I really like the characters, however I felt rather disconnected from the setting. The world building felt rushed and I found myself extremely confused at times.

Nevertheless, I think that Immortal Longings was a solid adult debut and I look forward to reading more by Chloe Gong.

I have questions.

About hues.

Immortal Longings is the first foray by Chloe Gong into Adult and it's a good one. In the twin cities of San-Er, body swapping and murder are the game.

It's a game I enjoyed because stabby implications.

And with all games, certain moves come out of left field. Twisty trickery afoot here.

I like Calla. And I like Antony. I liked their voices. How sharp Calla was to her own detriment. How determinedly ambitious Antony was to the point that he'll break his foundations to keep climbing higher.

I liked the allusion to a romantic thread in Anthony's life.

Calla, not so much. It didn't hit where it should have and that disappointing.

The city itself, I felt like it could have had more character. I didn't feel the claustrophobia that I wanted to experience. I get, that it was grim and way over cramped and that life and light are hard to find. But I didn't feel it.

WHAT I DID FEEL, HOWVER, WAS PUFE WHAT THE FUCKERY AT THE ENDING.

How actually dare you Ms. Gong. And, also, how??????

big thank you to netgalley, the author and publisher for this arc.

5. big. shiny. stars.

good fucking god dude she has done it AGAIN. NO MISSES. BANGER AFTER BANGER. it is no secret that i am actual trash for miss chloe gong's work, but TRULY. this was so good, again.

i've described this before as being a voluntary hunger games set within a big city that's way too overcrowded – eighty-eight players having to battle to the death to get to the finals. they all play for the large sum of money to be won, except for miss calla. she just wants to fix their kingdom. and dude i love her so much. AND ANTON. i love both of them.

the story, the characters, i might be biased but i don't care. i will be impatiently waiting for the next book.

AND I WILL ALSO BE SENDING MISS GONG MY THERAPY BILL. thank you very much. WHAT was that ending??? screaming crying throwing up.

anyways. i can't wait to see more of this world in the next book.

Immortal Longings took place in a kingdom called Talin with twin cities as its capitol, San-Er, and King Kasa at its head. The story began with the crown prince, August, conspiring with the long-believed-to-be-dead Princess Calla, after her bloodbath and petricide 5 years ago. The motive was none other than toppling down the king by becoming the winner of the survival 'game'. Yes, very much like what's happening in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, but make it less make sense, chaotic, and rule wise questionable.

Everyone with the gene, have the ability to 'jump' from one body to another. It's their Qi that's jumping, a body is a mere vessel. How about the target body? The ones being jumped to? Defeated. Unconscious until the one invading their bodies left. (I also found this very very concerning)

Confused yet? SAME.
DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND READ THE BOOK DESCRIPTION VERY CAREFULLY, Please.

It's actually sadden me that I didn't love this book the way I expected it to be:"(

It was overwhelming from the start. The world building was not one to be absorbed easily, at least by my brain capacity. One of the thing I regard highly from Gong's writing is how she made the setting alive. How the city breaths and strive. Sadly I didn't find it here in Immortal Longings.

Advertise as enemy to lovers, it may be there on page, but I couldn't really feel it. Their dynamic was good, but not that deep and devastating where it hurts you when they have to kill each other iykwim. They didn't burn and the feelings were surface level.

None of the characters are appealing enough to be rooted for. There are so many of them appeared at the first half, and gone in the second half without much effect to the reader and to the plot. Some of them started as a promising character but ended up quite disappointing.

Idek what to say about the plot. It scatters all around with no closure. I left with lots of guesses and much to clarify in the later book.

The premise was good, but it didn't well executed in the end.

I felt more irritation than suspense toward the cliffhangers.

Things I love: The FMC live up to the expectation as the skillful fighter. I love the bloody fighting scene.

It was quite engaging to follow only to find the answers.

If you're into dystopian retro setting, survival bloody game, political intricts dealing with toppling down kingdom, laced with betrayal and PLOT TWISTS give this book a go.

And if you're wondering whether it has the same vibe with Secret Shanghai series NO IT WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT 🤣👌👌

Thanks Netgalley and Hodderscape for the arc 💕

Summary:

Every year the kingdom of Talin host a competition where competitors can win untold riches - if they survive.

This year Princess Calla who has been disgraced by the kingdom and Anton Makusa an exiled aristocrat enter the competition secretly forming an unexpected alliance.

Their developing relationship causes Calla to question which is more important - love or her kingdom?

Review

The concept of this book is great, the magic is imaginative and unique. The description of the competition brings to light the scenes between the characters and the ruthlessness of the games.

But…I found it hard to feel any attachment to the main characters and ended up not really caring about what happened to them.

I found the characters and storyline confusing at times and felt the book would have benefited from more of a backstory being set out about them and the competition.

The pace was a bit slow and although the cliffhanger ending was good, I’m probably not going to continue the series.

An exhilarating start to a new series!

It’s hard not to liken this book to the Hunger Games, from the battle to death to the starving providences, but it’s also like a real life game of deadly assassin.

There’s lot of characters to get your head round in this book, but the key character is Calla, the Princess of Er, who is on a mission win the games and kill the king. The rest of the characters are those who want to help her, or hurt her.

As with any fantasy story, there’s a lot to get your head round in the first half of the book. From the world building to the magic system, you can feel a bit boggled. BUT, I can confirm you will finish this book with a mighty does of WTAF and a desire to get cracking on the next.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC.

I am always become big fans of reimage or unique retelling. And for years after The Hunger Games series, there is no other series dare to offer story with real high stakes and bloody competition. And this book gave me all of that in one one sitting.

This was my second read from the author and I absolutely love this version of her writing. The prose is darker and beautifully delivered, Descriptive and kinda repetitive for the world surrounding the characters. But it also help me as readers to absorb into our main characters's eyes. Actually the worldbuild, background historical, details setting and magic system seem so intriguing but kinda confusing. Maybe I need to reread later.

I am not fans of the characters names, it was too obviously butchering, too similar with the real one but I still enjoyed to peek their voices, their relationship and got heart sport when following their bloody feral actions. I absolute love this brutal, fast pace and intriguing story. I won't ruin other readers experience with too much details about the characters because I think Cala, Anton and August's ARC journey are the best gems that worth your time to explore.

Thank you Hodderscape from Hodder&Stoughton and Netgalley for provided my copy. My thoughts and opinions always become my own.

*4.5 stars

The only way to win, is to survive

This book was utterly delectable, throughly feral, and a complete thrill from start to finish.

The Hunger Games x 90s Asian Noir x Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. RUN DON'T WALK to pre-order this bad boy, trust me you need it in your life.

I am going to wait to post a full in-depth review until the book is out, but in the meantime if you hear rabid screeching from the direction of New Zealand, it's me thinking about this book.

miss chloe gong just cannot miss i fear. every single book she writes feels like a dagger to my heart. the only complain i have is having to wait for the second book because that ending got me screaming like phoebe bridgers at the end of i know the end for real.

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!!

the complex world building and action in this book had me flying through the pages unable to put it down. I absolutely love Chloe Gong's writing because you really feel as if you are right there in the book experiencing everything with the characters as they do. unfortunately some of the characters didn't hold up with how they are originally portrayed and the beginning of the book and some of the magic system was a bit hard to wrap my head around but apart from that it was a really great read.

3.75/5 stars can't wait to see what happens next!!

This is my first book by Chloe Gong, and I'm really intrigued by her way of writing. It's colorful, fast-paced and mesmerizing.
Immortal Longings indeed is an adult book, showing the worst of humanity and getting bloody at times.
In a restrictive kingdom and its dark twin cities, people suffer and barely hang by a thread at times. Yet they all get entertained by the Games, where 88 contestants fight each other to the death until only one remains (yes, get your Hunger Games vibes up). Though they do get provided with weapons, the strongest one is based on a magic system called Jumping. Chosen people can transfer their qi to another body and such inhabit it for as long as they want. What sounds simple is quite complex when thinking it through and raises all kinds of questions. Some are answered in the book: Jumping does not provide immortality, because the qi fades out after 100 years, no matter the body you're in. Some questions are left open or anwered partially with too many loopholes, and some aren't properly touched upon. It's the last one that put me at unease while reading the book - when some people can just invade a body whenever they want, and do with that body whatever they want, then this is cruel abuse and transgression. Gong tries to establish the view that qi is everything, and the body is just a vessel, but it didn't lift my concerns about this.
The characters are really nicely morally grey, and you might find yourself loving and hating them at the same time. However, their motives are sometimes murky and I wished there had been more depth and explanations at times.
The end of the book is a real game changer and you'll want to keep reading after it.
All in all I enjoyed it very much, and had Gong chosen a different magic system, I'd rate it much higher.
3,5/5 stars
Thank you so much @netgalley and @hodderbooks for the eARC.
#ImmortalLongings

What the hell was that ending?!

***
Immortal Longings is Gong's adult debut; a retelling of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra with her signature speculative noir stylisms but with Hong Kong 90s gritty action-flick flare and dystopian undercurrents à la Hunger Games. Calla Tuoleimi is presumed dead, but has been lurking in the shadows of her bloodshed and her secrets as she readies for the endgame. Anton Makusa is desperate to save the past, his childhood lover, and will kill for victory in the games to keep her alive.

The good ole conflict of 'duty vs desire' strings the cast together as some are caught in an internal battle with a personal selfish desire and their (goshdarn) sense of righteousness and others swing towards opposite ends of the spectrum. It is made clear where the characters fall on the spectrum, and how the triumvirate of the cast influence each other. Another familiar theme, one seen before in Gong's previous series, is the enduring power of love; towards one's country, towards one's companion, towards one's self. But we do see times of self-loathing and doubt when characters waver and aloofness from others towards the concept, believing it to be beneath them. Identities and power are pretty interesting themes and topics to also consider, mainly with respect to FAFG's worldbuilding.

As someone who heard of but never examined the source of inspiration for this series and made some Google searches after finishing IL, I'd say Gong made great interpretations of the themes that have clear links to the play without being too elementary in her execution while avoiding the *relatively* (cough) outdated ideals that date Shakespeare's works.

With ends waiting to be tied up (and surely to play a bigger role in the sequel) and a cliffhanger to answer for, Immortal Longings paves a bloody road for the next instalment of Flesh and False Gods.

Thanks to Netgalley and (especially) Hodder & Stoughton (for always having my back regarding Chloe Gong's books) for providing me with the e-ARC/DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Entertaining from beginning to end and with a great setting, Immortal Longings will be perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and intense romances.

Chloe Gong is a genius, and with Immortal Longings, this thought of mine only solidifies more and more.

In the city of San-Er, thousands of people flock every year in order to face a series of games. These battles, unless one dies, assures them winnings equal to unimaginable riches.
After losing her parents, Calla's goal is to suppress the monarchy, and if she ever wins the games, she will have the chance to kill her uncle.
It was Calla's good fortune to meet Anton Makusa, the best jumper in the kingdom.
An alliance of sorts is formed, also enriched by the presence of King Kasa's adopted son August.

*Calla Tuoleimi , princess of Er. She could do nothing on a throne, but she can do everything with a sword in her hand.*

Immortal Longings is a real gem.
It managed to keep me glued to the pages of the book, undoubtedly an engaging and dynamic book.
Rich in events, the story is enriched by the absence of our main characters.
Calla, besides being a princess, is a born fighter. She has her goals clearly defined and is willing to do anything to win, until she meets Anton.
Well, he doesn't go short on strong character either.
The worldbuilding enriches the story and makes me fully immerse myself in the story.

In conclusion: read it!

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong is an exciting new series by one of my absolute favourite authors and it's a story of living in dilapidated cities, entering a bloodbath game for a better life that leads to the goal of bringing down an evil ruler. This book was confusing a lot of the time but once everything falls into place, it was so thrilling and nerve wracking.

I was all into this story and the author has once again outdone herself. I absolutely had no idea what to expect in this dystopian tale that reminds me so much of The Hunger Games but with a twist of having the ability to move between bodies with one's qi. Only the premise is similar but apart from that, it was totally at a course of its own.

I have to say the layout is weird as always if its an e-arc from netgalley but because this book has multiple povs, that was my main concern because it keeps changing and I have to give all my concentration towards it.

I am already well equipped by the author's plot twists yet this book still caught me by surprise. This alone is the reason why I'm such a huge fan of the author's works. And you know it's a Chloe Gong staple when the main character wields weapons the best and its just so badass I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel because that ending? Outrageous!

All in all, this is a very exhilarating read. One I definitely recommend you to read.

It's chloe gong. You know it was going to be good. And it is. A double plot-line that keeps you guessing and second guessing yourself the whole way though!? And the characters. I connected with them so quickly and really felt for their highs and lows. The setting was so detailed, I couldn't easily imagine myself there. The romance was a subtle background one which I loved, and let the power plays and politics really take forefront and it was worth it! Highly recommend and it shows the continuous improvement in her writing. Can't wait for book 2

okay wow, i don't even know where to begin. first of all, i loved this book so so so much, it exceeded my expectations.
i found the magic system to be really interesting and even if there are still some questions open and some things that i don't understand about it, the fact that they could jump between bodies was something i had never read about before. at least not to that extend. i was really fascinated by it. our three main characters were all so interesting to read about (i have to be honest tho, i didn't care about augusts chapters as much as the others, but i am still very excited to hopefully learn more about him) and their relationships with each other were super intruiging.
i am not the first person to compare this book to hunger games and i definetly won't be the last, but i also feel like it still felt very new and original and it can definitely stand on it's own, especially with the adding of the magic system.
i was on the edge of my seat for at least half of the book and i could not put it down.
the rivals to accomplices to enemies? to lovers to i don't even know plotline i enjoyed very much. i have to say tho, sometimes i felt like anton and callas relationship was moving quite fast and i was missing some moments were they really bonded with each other, but overall i am SO excited to read more about them and i love them a lot.
the ending. the plottwist. the cliffanger. chloe gong i just want to talk. HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO WAIT THIS LONG FOR THE SEQUEL I NEED IT IMMEDIATELY!!!!
so yeah, i loved this book and i feel like everyone who loves dystopian and fantasy books and/or the hunger games will love it too.

⤷‧₊˚4⭑
“would you know me in another body?”
“in any body, you would still be the same terrifying princess.”

ok wow
that was so good?

chloe gong never disappoints, this was her first adult novel and that was the only thing i knew about this book when i started reading it. the atmosphere was so beautifully written and it was a easy & quick read also let’s not start about how gorgeous the cover is.

& the end i mean hello??
i need the second book right now!

thank you so much for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not a fan of this author’s writing, to the point where I wonder if her books aren't for me, but whenever she releases a new book, I always want to read it in the hopes that I'll enjoy it. Despite the fact that I enjoy the world building and the characters' ability to switch bodies by jumping, as well as the survival game they must play, however It is poorly executed.

The author didn't quite describe San-Er in just one or two chapters, but nearly half of them had repetitive narrations that didn't need to be explained, interfering with the plot. what irritates me is that instead of a game filled with action from the players there was only a relentless narrative and a ridiculous revenge plan;

A slew of characters emerged, diverting attention away from the three MCs, August, Calla, and Anton. What I didn't like was that their POVs weren't separated by chapter, so I couldn't tell what was going on.

The ending, which should be the perfect way to end the game, becomes dull, and even silly to me. I struggled to finish this book despite almost DNFing it, so I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 2. I still want to read more of this author's work.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC!

Immortal Longings is Chloe Gong's adult debut, and the first book in a new trilogy.

Chloe is already one of my favorite authors of all time and I love her books and I was really curious to see how she was going to transition into her adult writing and it's safe to say that I am super satisfied with what is the result and I am beyond in love with this book and I'm so grateful for the publisher Hodder & Stughton for providing me with this anticipated copy so many thanks for that.

I didn't know a lot about this book before I read it because I tend to not read synopsis before picking up titles, especially when I already like the author/no the general vibe of the book which was the case with this one I knew it was going to be a sort of inspired by Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and I knew it was going to be a trilogy I knew they were going to be fantasy elements. And that's pretty much all I knew about this book and so although I'm going to say in my review things that are in the synopsis I do feel like if you the least you know will get you more surprised in this reading experience, but I also know that my parameters are not the same as everybody else's and so I know that knowing a fair share of a book it's okay.

So the protagonists of this story are princess Calla Tuoleimi and Anton Makusa, but I would definitely say that the big protagonist is definitely Calla she gets the most chapters the most focused and development it's very centered on her story which also is amazing and I was really captivated by this character although I did found some similarities between her and Juliette for some reason maybe it's just something in my head but it did strike me as a resemblance but I enjoy a lot of what motivates as a person and I did love her chapters. Now we do get a few chapters written by Anton but like it's the proportion is so much less than the ones for column and we do get also a few random chapters written by other characters in the book this is sort of a thing that Chloe does and her other books but like here is not a it's not a third protagonist or something else it's just literally random chapters which help to construct some of the mood and some of the in a Revelations that she was working through the story and it's nice to have others as the perspective but it's safe to say that we do have like this is a story focused on Calla that's why she is on the cover of the British edition which also leads me to something else I would like to comment about this book.

The cover. The cover. When I first saw the US cover I loved it I thought it was really pretty and I was generally aesthetically pleased and when I saw the British cover I was like "what is this what book is this" and I did not enjoy that cover at first, however now that I read the book, now that I know the story, my opinions have changed because the British cover is in its essence the book. The British cover is purely, Immortal Longings. The US cover doesn't give me anything doesn't represent anything you know it's just that it's just a generic cover it's just aesthetically pleasing cover it's not an ugly cover I'm not going to say that but definitely the US cover is just very bland and also I don't really associate that cover with Chloe Gong's books specifically. So now I do feel like I enjoy the British covers so much more now that I know the story now that I know that this cover conveys the story so well and the atmosphere.

The atmosphere. Wow. This is one of my favorite things about this book I think it was worked perfectly and you can really see that the author has spent a lot of time constructing a very strong and descriptive ambience, and this setting is just fantastic you know it's very unique you have this world a.k.a City that truly existed in the 1990s and it's such a unique place I was so enthralled and captivated by this setting and and truly the descriptions were so immersive and I think it's one of the best jobs Chloe has ever done with creating a setting in an in a place and it's so different from all of right before from her because her previous books had all been historical in setting, either the Gatsby-esque setting of TVD and OVE and the 1930s of FLF, and it was very refreshing to read her writing something so modern and constructing such a strong atmosphere.

It also made me notice that her writing keeps evolving, I mentioned in my FLF review how much her writing had developed from TVD and how she was at her best in that novel, and I feel like now, yes her writing is once again improved, but I also feel like the writing is different in this book. It has that same feeling of "oh i'm reading a Chloe Gong book" which I LOVE about authors, that just stay on their own brand of writing that you would recognize anywhere, but she has taken a shift from what she did in her other novels, I feel like combined with the setting/aesthetic and also the pacing, because this book moves much faster than her other ones, it all makes her writing a bit different (still good tho) and it makes for a nice reading experience, especially for readers like me who have been reading her books for such a long time.

Also, I was very curious how she would work her way into writing her first trilogy because her other books were all part of duologies and the first thing I noticed is that Immortal Longings is much shorter in size. While her other books were all on the big size of over 500 ish pages (FLF is almost 600), IM has according to the publishers page and to GoodReads around 380 maybe 400 pages, and that is a much more average size. I feel like instead of writing to chunks of books and calling it a day, she simply divided those pages better into three segments and called it a trilogy. But that also makes the story move much faster, because there isn't enough pages to dwindle or waste, everything is at top speed here.

Going back to the narration I feel like since we got to see so much of Calla on this one, it opens up a lot of opportunity for in one of the next two books we read more about Anton. I have so many questions! About! His! Past! You better answer them Chloe!

I also have to say that Calla is amazing and she can do no wrong! I will defend her no matter what, and I'm already so emotionally invested in her.

And yes, Chloe didn't lie on her tiktok this book does feature a bit of spice which was a very nice surprise! It isn't much but it was good, but it also wasn't enough to make me think this book is super "adult!". I know the characters are like 23 and 25 and they do behave as such, but the thing is, I never believed Roma and Juliette were teenagers. They too behaved like twenty somethings, but we all know that it was marketed as a young adult novel etc etc etc. I just feel like a lot of these YA novels are very mature, in terms of the way the characters think and act, and then the same can be said about the characters here in IM, the only difference is that one is being actively sold as an adult book, but all of them characters behave like adults.

Nevertheless, it is a great book and I had a great time. Ever since the start I was pulled in and was immediately intrigued and captivated by the story, which was great since I was in the middle of a reading slump. I was constantly dying to know what would happen next, and also enjoying every minute of it and never wanting it to end. Which by the way lead me to the ending! What an ending!!! I can't believe I have to wait a year for the next book!!! I mean the actual book isn't even out yet and I'm already suffering with the time I'm going to have to wait, damn! I was totally speechless with that ending, I did not see it coming, and now I am even more excited to continue reading this series and for what comes next for these characters.

In short, I loved this book. It's a 5-star, it's a favorite. It has everything I love. And Chloe Gong can do no wrong.